For nearly three centuries, layers of plain paint and plaster hid a remarkable secret inside one of Rome’s long-neglected Renaissance villas.
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layers → hide → villas
Now, restorers peeling back those layers are bringing colourful scenes of gods, goddesses, soldiers and mythological figures back into view, as per a report by Smithsonian Magazine.
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restorers → peel → Magazine
The rediscovered artwork is inside Villa Silvestri Rivaldi, a sprawling 16th-century residence just a short distance from Rome’s Colosseum.
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artwork → rediscover → Colosseum
The villa was acquired by Italy’s Lazio region for €25 million in 2024, and an extensive restoration is now revealing frescoes that had been deliberately covered after the property passed into the hands of a religious institution.
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property → acquire → institution
The murals include nude and semi-nude figures from non-Christian mythology, which reportedly offended the nuns who occupied the villa from the 17th century.
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who → include → century
The paintings were subsequently plastered over, leaving the Renaissance artwork hidden for around 300 years.
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paintings → plaster → years
Today, conservators are carefully removing those later layers using techniques including laser cleaning and water-based methods.
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conservators → remove → cleaning
In some sections, the process has already revealed entire scenes that had disappeared from view for generations.
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that → reveal → generations
Frescoes hidden behind plain walls
Its builder was Eurialo Silvestri, a chamberlain and close associate of Pope Paul III
Villa Silvestri Rivaldi was built between 1534 and 1547, when Rome was undergoing a major artistic and architectural transformation.
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Rome → hide → transformation
Its builder was Eurialo Silvestri, a chamberlain and close associate of Pope Paul III, who hoped the grand residence would help strengthen his ambitions of becoming a cardinal.
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residence → hop → cardinal
Although that ambition did not succeed, the villa became home to a succession of prominent figures and families, including members of the Medici and Colonna dynasties.
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villa → succeed → dynasties
Alessandro de’ Medici, who later became Pope Leo XI, was among those associated with the property.
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who → become → property
The villa was designed to reflect the wealth and status of its occupants.
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villa → design → occupants
Its interiors featured elaborate decorations, coats of arms and mythological imagery, while its gardens once included a large nymphaeum with 12 fountains, shell mosaics, statues and orange trees.
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gardens → feature → fountains
Its location, overlooking parts of ancient Rome, also influenced the themes chosen by the artists.
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location → overlook → artists
Classical mythology and ancient Roman imagery were particularly suited to a residence built amid the ruins and monuments of the city.
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mythology → build → city
But the villa's artistic character changed dramatically after 1660, when it became the property of the Conservatory of the Mendicant Spinsters.
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it → change → Spinsters
The religious institution operated a girls’ school and orphanage there and remained associated with the building for about three centuries.
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institution → operate → centuries
During that period, the nuns objected to the nude figures and other pagan imagery decorating the walls.
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nuns → object → walls
Instead of allowing the controversial images to remain visible, the murals were covered.
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murals → allow → ?
For centuries, the Renaissance paintings effectively disappeared behind the new surfaces.
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paintings → disappear → surfaces
A hidden Renaissance gallery re-
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gallery → re → ?
The first serious attempts to uncover the paintings began more than two decades ago.
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attempts → uncover → paintings
Between 2002 and 2006, conservators carried out cleaning tests on parts of the walls after suspecting that older murals were hidden underneath.
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murals → carry → walls
Those tests confirmed that significant artwork remained beneath the overpainting.
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artwork → confirm → overpainting
But restoration could not proceed at the time because the villa was still owned by a religious order that did not have the funds required for the work, according to Paola Mezzadri, a conservator and restorer involved in the project.
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that → proceed → project
The situation changed after Lazio acquired the property in 2024.
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Lazio → change → 2024
Restoration work has now moved into a more substantial phase, with teams stabilising the deteriorating building while simultaneously investigating and cleaning its historic decoration.
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teams → move → decoration
The wider restoration project has been described as a roughly $40-million effort, including the property acquisition and work intended to give the complex a new public life.
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project → describe → life
There, restorers have uncovered monumental figures of goddesses, depicted in vibrant oranges, yellows and greens.
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restorers → uncover → oranges
Some appear with flowing robes while others hold armour or weapons.
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others → appear → armour
The scenes offer a glimpse of the elaborate mythological decoration that once transformed the villa’s interiors.
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that → offer → interiors
Researchers believe Prospero Fontana may have been responsible for at least some of the paintings.
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Fontana → believe → paintings
Art historians have also linked the decoration to Perino del Vaga, an important artist of the period and a pupil of Raphael’s circle.
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historians → link → circle
Drawings preserved at the British Library have helped researchers investigate the possible connection between Fontana and the frescoes.
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researchers → preserve → Fontana
More paintings still waiting to be uncovered
In the Hall of the Emperors, restorers are uncovering scenes showing soldiers, cavalry, battles and even a lion.
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restorers → wait → soldiers
The Hall of Divinities is not the only part of the villa yielding surprises.
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Hall → yield → surprises
In the Hall of the Emperors, restorers are uncovering scenes showing soldiers, cavalry, battles and even a lion.
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restorers → uncover → soldiers
Portraits of Roman emperors, including Titus and Hadrian, have also emerged as layers covering the walls are removed.
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layers → include → walls
Another section, known as the Hall of Cupid and Psyche, has yet to be fully investigated.
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section → know → Cupid
…and 9 more, not listed.
The Aporia
